Wake Forest Baptist July Awards and Recognitions

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – July 26, 2013 – Charles Branch, Jr., M.D., professor and chair of neurosurgery at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, was given the Meritorious Service Award during the American Association of Neurological Surgeons/Congress of Neurological Surgeons Joint Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves Annual Meeting held recently in Phoenix, AZ. Awarded annually, this recognition acknowledges accomplishments and distinguished service to neurosurgery in the field of spinal surgery.

During the last few months, Branch has delivered keynote speeches at the American Association of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting and the Canadian Neurologic Sciences Federation Annual Meeting. Branch was also the honored guest of the Korean Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery in Seoul, South Korea.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – July 26, 2013 – Nurse Anesthesia Program Director Michael Rieker, DNP, CRNA, has been selected as a 2013 Fellow in The American Academy of Nursing. He will be inducted during the Academy’s 40th annual meeting in October in Washington, DC.

Currently ranked seventh in the country, the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center nurse anesthesia program is the first in the United States, and only the second in the world, to receive full accreditation from the International Federation of Nurse Anesthetists.

To be considered for fellowship inclusion, candidates must show evidence of significant contributions to nursing and health care. Aside from advancing education domestically, Rieker’s work with the Office of Global Health and the non-profit organization Kybele, Inc. included facilitating the development and ongoing support of a nurse anesthesia training program in Ghana.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – July 26, 2013 – Amy N. Hildreth, M.D., FACS, assistant professor of surgical sciences-general surgery at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, was part of a delegation of American physicians who conducted a two-day seminar titled “Trauma Care - A U.S. Experience” at the J.J. Hospital in Mumbai, India, on June 17 and 18.

Following the seminar, delegation participants took two days to visit hospitals and interact with officials and trauma surgeons focusing on infrastructure, continuing medical education, research and other related subjects.

Hildreth’s clinical specialties include trauma surgery, surgical critical care and emergency general surgery. She serves as assistant program director for the Medical Center’s General Surgery Residency Program and is the director of the third-year Surgery Clerkship for medical students.

Wake Forest Baptist Professor Named Fellow of the American Statistical Association

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – July 26, 2013 – Ralph B. D’Agostino Jr., Ph.D., professor of biostatistical sciences and biostatistics core director for the Comprehensive Cancer Center at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, has been named a 2013 Fellow of the American Statistical Association (ASA), the nation’s preeminent professional statistical society.

D’Agostino was honored for his contributions to applied statistical and medical research, significant leadership on large-scale multi-center statistical coordinating centers, important contributions to the conduct of research studies and for his service to the profession.

The American Statistical Association is the world’s largest community of statisticians and the second-oldest continuously operating professional society in the United States. The Committee on Fellows evaluates each candidate’s contributions to the advancement of statistical science and places due weight to published works, the position held with their employer, ASA activities, membership and accomplishments in other societies and other professional activities.

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